Herpes virus confirms ancient human 'out-of-Africa' migration saga

Washington: A new study of the full genetic code of a common human virus has offered proof of the "out-of-Africa" pattern of human migration, which earlier had been documented by anthropologists and studies of the human genome. 

Senior author Curtis Brandt, a professor of medical microbiology and ophthalmology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison said that the virus under study, herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), usually causes nothing more severe than cold sores around the mouth. 

Brandt said that the virus under study, herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1), usually causes nothing more severe than cold sores around the mouth. 

Brandt and co-authors Aaron Kolb and Cecile Ane compared 31 strains of HSV-1 collected in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia, and the result was fairly stunning. 

He said that the viral strains sort exactly as you would predict based on sequencing of human genomes. 

Brandt asserted that they found that all of the African isolates cluster together, all the virus from the Far East, Korea, Japan, China clustered together, all the viruses in Europe and America, with one exception, clustered together. 

He said that what they found follows exactly what the anthropologists have said, and the molecular geneticists who have analyzed the human genome have said, about where humans originated and how they spread across the planet. 

Brandt said that the researchers broke the HSV-1 genome into 26 pieces, made family trees for each piece and then combined each of the trees into one network tree of the whole genome. 

The study has been published online in the journal PLOS ONE. 

Utah scout leaders who toppled ancient rock: 'We did something right the wrong way'

Under fire from the Boy Scouts of America and under investigation by law enforcement, two Utah troop leaders who taped themselves gleefully toppling a boulder from a Jurassic-era rock formation in a state park said Friday they should have been more hands-off.

Glenn Taylor and Dave Hall told NBC News that they acted with good intentions, pushing the massive rock before it could fall on its own and hurt someone, but now wish they had just alerted a ranger.

"We did something right the wrong way," Taylor said.

Taylor and Hall, who were on a trip to Goblin Valley State Park with eight Boy Scouts, recorded the moment they dislodged the rock from the spot it had been perched for 170 million years.

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The video, which was posted to YouTube by the Salt Lake Tribune, shows them cheering and high-fiving, crowing that they had saved lives. Taylor struck a pro-wrestling strongman pose and Hall sang the 1990 dance-party hit, "Wiggle It — Just a Little Bit."

“We have now modified Goblin Valley,” Hall declared on the video.

The footage brought a scolding from the Boy Scouts of America, which has a "Leave No Trace" policy for outdoors activities.

“We are shocked and disappointed by this reprehensible behavior," Deron Smith, a spokesman for the venerable scouting group, said in a statement on Friday.

"The isolated actions of these individuals are absolutely counter to our beliefs and what we teach," Smith said. "We are reviewing this matter and will take appropriate action.”

The Emery County Attorney's office is looking into possible criminal charges against the duo, although the state Attorney General's Office has decided not to intervene.

The longtime scout leaders were aghast that they could face a felony charge for their antics, and said the act was not malicious in any way, although an "adrenaline rush" may have made it look that way.

They said they were just enjoying a day of their young charges climbing over the rock formations, which is permitted under park rules.

"We came across this two- to three-thousand-pound boulder that was resting on about an inch-and-a-half-thick, razor-thin ledge of dirt," Hall said.

"Upon putting a little pressure on it, you could see that it was moving and just then a couple of families walked up right below that rock and went around it…and stopped for a family photo.

"And the thought that went through our minds was if this would have fallen while they were coming up that valley, up that very well-used walkway, numerous fatalities would have happened."

In retrospect, they say, they should have just told a ranger of the hazard.

Instead, Taylor went up to the rock "and with one arm put a little bit of pressure on that [and] it went right over," said Hall, who acted as cameraman.

Taylor admitted they were amped up by the sight, but said it wasn't done for kicks.

"It was spectacular to watch something like that," he said. "It was not 'let's go tear Goblin Valley down.'"

Hall said one of the scouts they were watching could easily have knocked over the boulder by accident.

"I wonder if we just jumped on the rock and it fell, would this be a felony?" he said.

But park officials said the pair were out of line.

“This is not behavior that is appreciated or should exist in state parks,” Eugene Swalberg, a spokesman for the park system, told the Deseret News.

“This has been formed for literally millions of years, and it’s supposed to last for a long time. It doesn’t need individuals doing the work of Mother Nature.”

China Smog Photos Show How Bad Its Air Pollution Problem Has Become

China has a serious smog problem. So much so that the northern city of Harbin, home to about 11 million people, was forced to cancel classes, close down the airport and suspend certain bus routes Monday.

According to The Associated Press, fine particulate matter readings taken in Harbin indicate that air pollution in the area is 40 times higher than the international safety standard set by the World Health Organization.

While visibility in the capital of the Heilongjiang province was less than 50 meters (164 feet), Harbin was not the only city in the region affected by smog. In the southeastern city of Shenyang, some 300 miles from Harbin, a heavy haze partially obscured a 75-story skyscraper from view. (Head over to The Daily Beast to see a comparison to a normal view of the landmark.)

Air pollution has been an ongoing problem in the country, with thick and heavy smog often forcing local governments to suspend transportation services and shutter businesses. Earlier this month, China announced that it would offer millions in rewards to regions that could successfully reduce air pollution levels.

See photos that illustrate the extent of air pollution in Harbin in the series (courtesy of Getty) below.

First Take: Investors are binging on Netflix as the new HBO

SAN FRANCISCO — Orange is the New Black may have helped make Netflix the new HBO with investors.

Netflix's on Monday reported a U.S. paid subscriber leap that puts the streaming service squarely ahead of Time Warner's HBO, according to analyst estimates.

The advances by Netflix spotlight a winning formula around original programming to attract new membership. Original titles such as Orange is the New Black and its Emmy-winning House of Cards were big attractions for subscribers. Binge viewing of such series titles have turned Netflix into a hits maker for a new generation.

"We went to a second season of Orange Is the New Black early because we had seen all 13 episodes (and) were highly confident in the forecast models and the quality of the show," Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said on a conference call.

Netflix's U.S. paid subscribers jumped to 29.9 million in the third quarter, up from 28.6 million in June, passing HBO's 28.7 million, according to market researcher SNL Kagan

Wall Street investors applauded Netflix's programming results. Shares of Netflix rocketed 10%, at $391.39, in after-hours trading on the news.

Overall membership at Netflix soared in the quarter from a year ago. Netflix reported a more than 33% jump in members from a year ago, at 40 million compared with less than 30 million in the prior period.

"I think Orange was a great success for us," Netflix CEO and founder Reed Hastings said on the call. "We're trying to do more great content like Orange."

Netflix quarterly results beat estimates, top to bottom, according to a survey of forecasts from Thomson Reuters. Company net income popped 315%, at $31.8 million, compared with a year ago. Revenue nudged past estimates by $6 million on just over $1.1 billion in the quarter. Earnings per share of 52 cents beat analyst forecasts for 49 cents in the period.

Netflix's international audience jumped by 1.4 million new members from a year ago, driven by Nordic and Netherlands expansion efforts, the company said.

Pollen Study Points to Culprit in Bronze Era Mystery

TEL AVIV — More than 3,200 years ago, life was abuzz in and around what is now this modern-day Israeli metropolis on the shimmering Mediterranean shore.

To the north lay the mighty Hittite empire; to the south, Egypt was thriving under the reign of the great Pharaoh Ramses II. Cyprus was a copper emporium. Greece basked in the opulence of its elite Mycenaean culture, and Ugarit was a bustling port city on the Syrian coast. In the land of Canaan, city states like Hazor and Megiddo flourished under Egyptian hegemony. Vibrant trade along the coast of the eastern Mediterranean connected it all.

Yet within 150 years, according to experts, the old world lay in ruins.

Experts have long pondered the cause of the crisis that led to the Late Bronze Age collapse of civilization, and now believe that by studying grains of fossilized pollen they have uncovered the cause.

In a study published Monday in Tel Aviv: Journal of the Institute of Archaeology of Tel Aviv University, researchers say it was drought that led to the collapse in the ancient southern Levant.

Theories have included patterns of warfare, plagues and a earthquakes. But while climate change has long been considered a prime factor, only recently have advances in science given researchers the chance to pinpoint the cause and make the case.

The journal of The Institute of Archaeology reports that an unusually high-resolution analysis of pollen grains taken from sediment beneath the Sea of Galilee and the western shore of the Dead Sea, backed up by a robust chronology of radiocarbon dating, have pinpointed the period of crisis to the years 1250 to 1100 B.C.

Unlike studies examining longer-term processes that may require a pollen analysis of strata 500 years apart, this pollen count was done at intervals of 40 years — the highest resolution yet in this region, said Prof. Israel Finkelstein of the Institute of Archaeology at Tel Aviv University.

He added that the uniqueness of the study also lay in the combination of precise science and archaeological and historical analysis, offering the fullest picture yet of the collapse of civilization in this area at the end of the Bronze Age.

“Egypt is gone. Forever,” said Professor Finkelstein. “It never got back to that level of prosperity again.”

The first recorded hint of trouble in the north came in the mid-13th century, according to the study, when a Hittite queen wrote to Ramses II, saying, “I have no grain in my lands.”

Several years ago, Professor Finkelstein and Prof. Steve Weiner of Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science received a grant from the European Research Council to conduct research aimed at reconstructing ancient Israel. The project consists of 10 tracks including ancient DNA and molecular archaeology — an effort to identify what 3,000-year-old ceramic vessels might have contained.

For the climate change part of the project, Professor Finkelstein joined forces with Dafna Langgut, a palynologist — or pollen researcher — at Tel Aviv University, and Professor Thomas Litt of the Institute of Geology, Mineralogy and Paleontology at the University of Bonn in Germany.

Recent studies of pollen grains conducted by experts in southeast Anatolia, Cyprus, along the northern coast of Syria and the Nile Delta came up with similar results, though with less control over the chronology, indicating that the crisis was regional.

Dr. Langgut described in an interview how the team extracted about 60 feet of cores of gray muddy sediment from the center of the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel, passing through 1,000 feet of water and drilling 65 feet into the lake bed, covering the last 9,000 years. At Wadi Zeelim in the southern Judean Desert, on the western margins of the Dead Sea, the team manually extracted eight cores of sediment, each about 20 inches long.

“We carried them on our backs,” Dr. Langgut said.

Pollen grains are one of the most durable organic materials in nature, she said, best preserved in lakes and deserts and lasting thousands of years. Each plant produces its own distinct pollen form, like a fingerprint. Extracting and analyzing the pollen grains from each stratum allows researchers to identify the vegetation that grew in the area and to reconstruct climate changes.

The laboratory work was carried out partly at Bonn University and partly in Tel Aviv. To obtain the most precise results possible, Professor Finkelstein instructed the Tel Aviv scientists to focus on the period of 3,500 B.C. to 500 B.C. and analyze samples at intervals of 40 years. The process began in 2010 and took three years.

The results showed a sharp decrease in the Late Bronze Age of Mediterranean trees like oaks, pines and carobs, and in the local cultivation of olive trees, which the experts interpret as the consequence of repeated periods of drought.

The study also draws on a case study by Prof. Ronnie Ellenblum, a geographer and historian at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, of another regional collapse 2,000 years later to explain why, unlike in the steppe regions, a decrease in precipitation would have such a destructive effect on established city-states in green areas like Megiddo. The droughts were likely exacerbated by cold spells, the study said, causing famine and the movement of marauders from north to south.

After the devastation came a wet period of recovery and resettlement, according to the experts — a new order that gave rise to the kingdoms of biblical times.

“Understanding climate is key to understanding history,” said Professor Finkelstein, a co-author of “The Bible Unearthed,” a book published in 2001 that viewed the Bible as a national epic and a product of the human imagination. Taking issue with traditional efforts to use archaeology to verify the historicity of the biblical record, the authors promoted archaeology as a means of reconstructing the history of ancient Israel.

But biblical stories like Joseph’s interpretation of the pharaoh’s dream about seven fat cows being eaten by seven gaunt cows, signifying a period of abundance followed by famine, he said, “reflects the idea that climate is not stable.”

He added, “The authors of the Bible knew very well the value of precipitation and the calamity that may be inflicted on people by drought.”

Message from France to U.S.: Stop intercepting our phone calls

London (CNN) -- French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius met Tuesday morning with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to discuss allegations that the National Security Agency intercepted more than 70 million phone calls in France over a 30-day period.

Fabius called the practice unacceptable and told Kerry that it must stop, the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement. The pair also discussed the situation in Syria ahead of a "Friends of Syria" meeting that's taking place in London on Tuesday.

The top diplomats huddled a day after the details of the alleged spying appeared in the French newspaper Le Monde.

U.S. President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande spoke Monday on the matter, according to a White House statement.

"The President and President Hollande discussed recent disclosures in the press -- some of which have distorted our activities and some of which raise legitimate questions for our friends and allies about how these capabilities are employed," the statement said. "The President made clear that the United States has begun to review the way that we gather intelligence, so that we properly balance the legitimate security concerns of our citizens and allies with the privacy concerns that all people share."

A news release from Hollande's office said he expressed his "deep disapproval with regard to these practices" to Obama and that such alleged activities would be unacceptable between allies and friends.

The two presidents agreed that French and American intelligence services will cooperate on investigating the report.

Intercepting millions of calls

The NSA monitored the phone calls made in France, Le Monde reported Monday, citing documents leaked by former NSA contractor Edward Snowden.

The intercepts took place from December 10, 2012, to January 8, 2013, the article reported. An NSA graph shows an average of 3 million data intercepts a day.

According to Le Monde, this is how the system worked: "When a telephone number is used in France, it activates a signal which automatically triggers the recording of the call. Apparently this surveillance system also picks up SMS (text) messages and their content using key words. Finally, the NSA apparently stores the history of the connections of each target -- or the meta-data."

It wasn't immediately clear from the article if the conversations were recorded or just the data surrounding each call.

Other spying allegations

The report follows weekend article in the German news magazine Der Spiegel that said the NSA "systematically" eavesdropped on the Mexican government. It hacked the public e-mail account of former Mexican President Felipe Calderon, which was also used by Cabinet members, according to Der Spiegel.

The magazine also quoted documents leaked by Snowden.

"This practice is unacceptable, illegitimate and against Mexican and international law," Mexico's Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It added that it would push for a speedy investigation.

"In a relationship between neighbors and partners, there is no room for the practices alleged to have taken place," the ministry said.

A senior U.S. State Department official told CNN that the Mexican government reached out about the report and that the two governments will be discussing it via diplomatic channels.

In September, Mexico and Brazil summoned U.S. ambassadors after media reports that the United States had spied on their countries' presidents. Those reports were also based on documents leaked by Snowden.

In race to launch insurance sites, states that started small win out

The federal health-insurance website may have tripped going out of the gate, but most of the state-run exchanges aren’t doing much better. Only some thousands of people have managed to sign up on any one website, and several have shut down more than once for a tune-up and a reboot.

Ironically, states that started out with the smallest ambitions seem to have led the pack.

Kentucky, with its slimmed-down exchange and small population to serve, and Washington, with its emphasis on window-shopping before getting out the wallet, may have enrolled more people — faster — than states like Maryland, which tried to emulate the federal do-it-all-at-once approach, experts say.

Brett Graham, a former insurance executive who directs Leavitt Partners’ health-insurance exchange practice, likens it to building a house.

“If you are building a house and you want to occupy it by a certain date, you have to have the plumbing and electricity done,” says Graham, whose company consults on private health exchanges.

“But if you choose not to finish the basement or you choose not the finish the deck or not to have the yard done … you will still be able to have shelter.”

Leaving off those extras appears to have worked for Kentucky, where officials say they've enrolled more than 15,000 people on the exchange, and Washington, which reports 30,000. Maryland, meantime, reports 16,000 people have filled out applications online but only 1,100 or so actually have enrolled. Maryland has about 800,000 people without health insurance, compared to Kentucky’s 650,000.

Logins create logjams in many states

“Many of the state websites, though not all, elected to simplify the process and allow you to shop without creating a login and submitting all your personal information,” says Caroline Pearson, a health reform expert at consulting firm Avalere Health.

California, Colorado, Connecticut, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington all let users skip the login. Maryland and Washington, D.C., appear to have been bogged down at least in part by making users create a login identity. Only 164 people in Washington D.C. had managed to actually buy insurance online as of the last report. 

But even those states have had trouble. Covered California, the state’s health-insurance program, was taken down for work over the weekend. State officials said 16,000 Californians had completed applications online in the first five days but they’ve stopped reporting numbers now.

Most states have stopped, in fact. Connecticut offered daily updates until Oct. 11, when it said 1,443 people had signed up for private insurance and 1,544 had been directed to Medicaid. Minnesota’s state-run health-insurance exchange reported last week that about 5,600 households had completed applications for coverage in its first two weeks.

It’s not necessarily easy to make a state-by-state comparison of who has actually managed to enroll because each state reports it differently. The federal government is not reporting at all until November, officials said.

Actual enrollment figures will have to wait

Insurance industry sources say some states are not planning to send applications to the companies until Nov. 1, meaning it’s not clear how many of those applications are complete and will actually go through.

According to the Advisory Board Company, 134,801 customers had applied at 15 state-run exchanges as of Oct. 16 and 48,457 people had actually managed to enroll in a plan. The federal government is counting on getting 7 million signed up by the end of next year.

There’s time: People don’t have to sign up until Dec. 15 if they want insurance starting on the very first day possible, Jan. 1. And they have until March 31 to enroll for 2014.

The federal government has been stuck completely running or at least helping to run the health-insurance marketplaces in 36 states. Fourteen states and Washington, D.C., are running their own.

“There is a high variability in the overall sophistication and searchability of the state websites,” Pearson says. Some let users see right away if a particular prescription drug is covered by a certain plan; others have left that off. “Whether you can see if your physician is part of the network was supposed to be part of the state exchanges, but they can add that later,” Pearson says.

Nevada, she says, has a “sophisticated” option for searching for drugs. But any site would find it easy to add a link to a formulary — a list of covered prescriptions.

Some states are taking a relaxed approach. Hawaii’s online site didn’t even go up until Oct. 15. Before that, people could sign up by phone or in person, as President Obama has urged users of the federal websites to do if they are in a hurry.

And Delaware didn’t seem even a little bit embarrassed to introduce its first successful customer, 59-year-old Janice Baker of Selbyville, two weeks after the exchanges opened. 

Lack of sleep may increase Alzheimer's risk

A new study suggests that reduced sleep and poor sleep quality may be linked to increased build-up of beta-amyloid plaques in the brains of older adults - a sign of Alzheimer's disease. This is according to a study published in the journal JAMA Neurology.

Researchers from The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Health say that previous research has linked disturbed sleep to cognitive impairment in older individuals.

They note that those with Alzheimer's disease (AD) have been shown to spend more time awake and have higher levels of fragmented sleep, compared with those who do not have the disorder.

Sleep patterns have previously been linked to beta-amyloid plaques. Research has indicated that changes in beta-amyloid levels may be regulated by sleep-wake patterns, the researchers say.

Therefore, they wanted to determine whether there is a link between beta-amyloid deposition and sleep variables within community-dwelling older adults.

The research team analyzed data from 70 adults with a mean age of 76 years, taken from the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging. All participants were free of any form of dementia.

The participants were required to self-report their sleep patterns, disclosing the mean hours of sleep they had each night, how often they woke throughout the night, whether they had trouble falling asleep and whether they woke earlier than planned.

Their beta-amyloid deposition in the brain was measured using various brain imaging techniques.

Lack of sleep 'increases beta-amyloid deposition'

The participants reported sleep duration ranging from no more than 5 hours, to more than 7 hours each night.

When comparing sleep duration with brain imaging showing the participant's beta-amyloid deposition, it was found that shorter overall nights' sleep duration and poor sleep quality were linked to increased beta-amyloid build-up.

However, the researchers note that the number of times a person woke during the night was not linked to an increase in beta-amyloid build-up.

The study authors say:

"Our results are consistent with those from animal research in which sleep deprivation increased interstitial fluid beta-amyloid levels.

These studies raise the possibility that poor sleep may promote beta-amyloid deposition, but they also raise questions about the mechanisms linking sleep/wake patterns and beta-amyloid burden."

Promoting healthy sleep 'may offset AD risk'

The researchers add that these findings could have significant public health implications, noting that AD is the most common form of dementia and almost half of older adults with the disorder report insomnia-based symptoms.

"Because late-life sleep disturbance can be treated, interventions to improve sleep or maintain healthy sleep among older adults may help prevent or slow AD to the extent that poor sleep promotes AD onset and progression," the study authors say.

"This result would have a substantial effect on the independence and quality of life of older adults and their families and on the significant health care costs associated with AD."

The researchers conclude that intervention trials are warranted in order to determine whether longer sleep duration and better sleep quality may prevent or slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease.

Research into beta-amyloid deposition in the brain continues. Medical News Today reported earlier this month that researchers from the University of Rochester have suggested sleep "detoxes" the brain by flushing out the waste products of neural activity.

A new biological clock measures altered DNA, not birthday candles

Move over birthday candles, and step aside telomeres; there may be a new kind of biological clock in town. And this one may prove useful in predicting where age-related diseases such as cancer are most likely to strike.

The proposed new body clock measures DNA methylation -- the process by which genes are altered as the body's cells differentiate and their genetic programs change to meet new demands. Researchers pored over the DNA of some 8,000 samples from 51 different tissues and cells -- including blood, brain, muscle, heart, lungs, liver and pancreas --  to devise a formula by which DNA methylation could be used to determine the age of the tissue from which the tested cells are drawn.

Horvath's research, published Monday in the journal Genome Biology, makes clear that the answer to the question "how old is this person?" may change depending on which tissue is checked.

In a single individual, the "DNAm" ages of diverse tissues largely converge on one number. But certain tissues may diverge from the norm. By comparing a specific tissue's "DNAm" age with the person's chronological age -- or with the DNAm age suggested by the person's other tissues -- physicians may one day be able to identify organs or tissues that are aging at an accelerated rate. That, in turn, may allow them to identify tissues that are vulnerable to abnormal processes such as cancer, or already under attack.

The author of the new research, UCLA bioinformatician Steve Horvath, found that a woman's breast tissue routinely tests as being older than her chronological age by two to three years. That, the authors speculated, may help explain why breast cancer is the most common cancer affecting women. Looking at the methylation of cells taken from the breasts of women with breast cancer, Horvath observed that tissue near the site of a tumor was, on average, 12 years older by DNAm standards than the rest of her body.

By contrast, musculoskeletal tissue and cardiac muscle typically look younger on DNAm readings than their owner's actual years -- owing, perhaps, to the rejuvenating effects of stem cells that remain relatively plentiful in those tissues through life, and come to the rescue whenever injury or disease set in.

The resulting "clock" also may one day offer scientists a way to measure whether anti-aging measures and regenerative medicine are delivering on their promise of turning back the hands of time.

Not surprisingly, embryonic stem cells or induced pluripotent stem cells -- adult cells that have been manipulated to revert to near-embryonic form -- were found to have an age of near zero as measured by this technique.

An exhaustive scan of the 121 sets of data on DNA methylation collected from patients both healthy and sick also showed that we age at different rates over our lifespans.

"The clock's ticking rate isn't constant," Horvath said. "It ticks much faster when we're born and growing from children into teenagers, then slows to a constant rate when we reach 20."

Horvath said he aims to develop and extend his body clock technique by looking at whether measures that stop the body's DNAm clock also stop the aging process, or whether doing so has negative effects. Meanwhile, UCLA has filed a provisional patent on Horvath's DNAm bioticker.

Bottle-Feeding May Raise Risk of Stomach Obstruction in Infants

MONDAY, Oct. 21 — Bottle-feeding might increase the risk that infants will develop a common but serious form of stomach obstruction that causes projectile vomiting.

Researchers found that babies were at least twice as likely to suffer hypertrophic pyloric stenosis (HPS) if they were bottle-fed versus breast-fed, according to findings published online Oct. 21 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics.

The risk also increased with the age of the mother, said study co-author Dr. Jarod McAteer, a surgical resident at the University of Washington in Seattle. Children of mothers older than 35 had a five to six times increased risk of pyloric stenosis.

“From a clinician’s standpoint, it’s just one more study that suggests that breast-feeding is important to the health of a newborn,” McAteer said. “Much data beyond this study supports breast-feeding as a much better thing for the infant. Physicians should take it into account and consider whether it’s an important enough factor to influence their counseling of patients.”

HPS occurs due to a thickening of the smooth muscle layer of the pylorus, the passage between the stomach and small intestines. Surgery is required to remove the obstruction.

The condition occurs in about two out of 1,000 babies in the United States, and is one of the more common causes of intestinal obstruction during infancy, the study authors noted in background information. Most infants who develop pyloric stenosis are usually between 3 to 5 weeks old.

Dr. Ben Hoffman, medical director of the Children’s Safety Center at Oregon Health & Science University’s Doernbecher Children’s Hospital, said that “pyloric stenosis is a problem that’s near and dear to the hearts of both pediatricians and pediatric surgeons.”

Hoffman, who was not involved with the study, added, “For a long time, we’ve accepted that we don’t know why it happens. The association between bottle-feeding and pyloric stenosis is certainly intriguing.”

McAteer and his colleagues used Washington state birth certificates and discharge data to examine births between 2003 and 2009. The study included 714 infants admitted to the hospital with HPS. Birth certificates recorded each baby’s feeding status.

Researchers found that the incidence of HPS decreased in Washington from 14 per 10,000 births in 2003 to nine per 10,000 births in 2009. Breast-feeding prevalence increased during that time, from 80 percent in 2003 to 94 percent in 2009.

About 19.5 percent of infants who developed HPS were bottle-fed, compared with 9 percent of babies who were breast-fed, the researchers reported.

The study also delved deeper, looking into how other risk factors might influence the risk of pyloric stenosis, McAteer said.

Neither the sex of the child nor whether the mother smoked appeared to play a role in HPS risk, but doctors did find that the age of the mother might be a factor, McAteer said.

Children of mothers under 20 who were bottle-fed ran a negligible risk versus those who were breast-fed, McAteer said. But children of mothers aged 20 to 35 had a two to three times increased risk if they were bottle-fed, and children of mothers older than 35 had a five to six times increased risk.

This opened up some speculation that hormones could play a part in HPS risk, McAteer said, noting that many baby formulas are soy-based and baby bottles could contain the plastics chemical Bisphenol A (BPA). Both soy and BPA can influence levels of the female hormone estrogen in the human body.

“There may be some kind of an interaction with the mother’s age and estrogen that could have some effect on pyloric muscle tone,” McAteer said. “But it’s still very much an open question.”

While parents should consider this information when choosing how to feed their infant, Hoffman cautioned that the study’s results are based on statistical observations.

“They did a good job showing there is an association, but it is important for people to realize this is far from causality,” Hoffman said. “It gets us a little further along the journey to better understanding. I look forward to the next steps. If we want to answer the question, we really need a large multicenter prospective study to help us get closer to an answer.”

GTA Online now halves money earnt from repeated missions, confirms Rockstar

Less money from repeating missions, but first batch of $500,000 stimulus package to arrive this week. 

Rockstar has confirmed that repeating missions in Grand Theft Auto Online will now only pay out half of the usual money.

The change was ushered in as part of the title update released last Friday, although it was not mentioned at the time. Rockstar has since clarified the situation on its support site.

"For those of you inquiring about mission payouts, there was a change that reduces payouts by 50 percent after a repeat of the mission," said Rockstar. "The first time you play and beat the mission, you will get the full amount. Subsequent replays will see a payout amount reduced by half. This is to keep the game balanced as well as encourage the exploration of new missions and content in the game."

"We understand players do like to enjoy a mission multiple times, so rather than remove the possibility of doing so, we've allowed replays of these missions at a reduced payout. Many players can get very good at a mission and beat it much faster in consecutive tries, so we've adjusted these payouts to match that case."

The economy balancing arrives on the same week as the first half of Grand Theft Auto Online's 500,000 GTA$ stimulus package, which was set up by the developer after server issues plagued the game at launch.

"We apologize that there was not full clarity about this in the patch notes," added Rockstar. "Hopefully this note will clear things up. If there are any additional questions, please do not hesitate to ask."

Rockstar also added that it having an ongoing discussion about being able to replay NPC missions in Grand Theft Auto Online.

How Online Video Makes Money for Colleges and Universities

Besides being a useful teaching tool, online video is a money-maker at educational institutions. Learn how to get the most out if it.

Video has many uses on campus both inside and outside of the classroom. As the audience learned at the recent Streaming Media East conference in New York City, several of those uses can generate revenue.

"Video is becoming more and more used in various contexts in academia," explained Jasmit Chilana, who works in web and IT services for the British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT). "If you look around, not just on the education side, but also on the governance side, people want to get their message out, and video is one way to attract more audiences, get the message out. There's always a complaint in academia that there's not enough communication, and we are finding that our executives, especially at BCIT, they're trying to reach out to the community with the use of video."

One area where online video's use is clear is in recruiting new students. Video helps them explore the campus and make their decision.

"Recruitment is another great way to cut down costs and also to reach out for promotional activities," Chilana said. "I watched those videos before making my decision. I wanted to see what the campus looked like. I wanted to see what the faculty was doing over there, what kind of research they were engaging in. I think that also factors in their decision to choose a university or not."

When prospective students can get a good feel for the campus, they're more likely to apply.

To hear more about monetizing video in education, watch the full presentation below and download the presentation.

How To: Monetizing Video Opportunities in Education

The exponential growth of smartphones and tablets is increasing the pressure in academia to offer more learning options online via the use of video. But only a handful of universities have implemented a comprehensive video strategy. This presentation will show how to use live streaming to attract part-time and international students as well as renowned faculty and guest speakers. While most academic executives and deans only analyze video from a dollars and cents perspective, this presentation will discuss ideas on how to incorporate it from a strategic standpoint.

Speaker: Jasmit Chilana, Web Services, IT Services, British Columbia Institute of Technology

Learn How to Take Better Photos with Digital Photography Tips and Tricks – V-kool

The article provides people with useful digital photography tips and tricks and some common photography mistakes that photographers should know to take their skills to the next level.

This article includes two sections that supply learners with simple yet unique digital photography tips and tricks, and some common mistakes to help them take bettor photos with ease. In the first part, people will get to know 6 essential tips for taking pictures that assist them in shortening the way to achieve their success in photography. The article teaches learners proper manners to hold a camera, innovative techniques to use telephoto lenses effectively, and easy tricks to follow the running subject easily. In addition, the writing also instructs photographers how to take children photos, how to manually activate the flash to modify lighting of the pictures, and how to grab a photo in front of a monument or landmark. Moreover, the report uncovers to learners some simple steps to edit a photo in order to turn it into a compelling photo. The information given in this part is actually helpful and easy-to-follow that most people can follow regardless of their photography experience and skills.

The second part introduces to readers top 8digital photography mistakes and their solutions that help people enhance their techniques dramatically. People will learn how to deal with blurry photos as well as photos with too much contrast. This section reveals to learners how to use a flash to freeze any movement and how to choose a higher ISO to set for faster shutter speeds. 

Additionally, photographers will discover how to take photos on a sunny day, how to resolve the red-eye problem without using images editing software, and how to take advantage of in-camera red-eye removal function. The article also provides learners with new information on how to take good photos, how to repair the out-of-focus photos, overexposed images, and underexposed pictures. Thanks to this article, a lot of people used it for enhancing their photography skill and promote their photography business successfully and efficiently.

Van Tran from the site Vkool.com says that: “This article is actually useful and newly updated that covers all fundamental information and little-known tricks on about taking photo. The photoshop secrets revealed in this post contain no complicated instructions that people can follow easily right from the privacy of their home. One more thing, this writing also gives people some innovative ideas on how to make a successful business plan with their photos.”

Over 60s should do digital photography not crosswords to keep memory sharp

Doing crosswords is not enough to stay sharp, the over 60s should be learning digital photography instead a study suggests

Listening to classical music and doing crosswords is not enough for the over 60s to stay sharp and they must learn new skills, a study found.

Instead people should be doing a course to learn something new, such as digital photography or quilting, to improve their long term memories.

The study of more than 200 people aged 60 and over found they needed “continuous and prolonged mental challenge” rather than doing easier activities such as crosswords or listening to music at home, to keep their minds sharp.

Dr Denise Park, of Texas University in Dallas who led the study, said: "It seems it's not enough just to get out and do something -it's important to get out and do something unfamiliar and mentally challenging and provides broad stimulation mentally and socially.

"When you're inside your comfort zone you may be outside of the enhancement zone. We need, as a society, to learn how to maintain a healthy mind just like we know how to maintain vascular health with diet and exercise. We know so little right now."

The study, published in Psychological Science, suggests older adults need to choose certain activities to help their long term memories as they age.

The study involved 221 people aged 60 to 90 who were split into groups to learn digital photography, quilting or both for 15 hours a week over three months. Others listened to classical music and completed crosswords or were put into groups that did social activities.

Dr Park said: "The findings suggest engagement alone is not enough. The three learning groups were pushed very hard to keep learning more and mastering more tasks and skills. Only the groups that were confronted with continuous and prolonged mental challenge improved."

The researchers plan to follow up with the participants after one year and five years to see if the effects remain.

Dr Park added: "Our participants essentially agreed to be assigned randomly to different lifestyles for three months so we could compare how different social and learning environments affected the mind.

"People built relationships and learned new skills - we hope these are gifts that keep on giving and continue to be a source of engagement and stimulation even after they finished the study.

”This is speculation but what if challenging mental activity slows the rate at which the brain ages? Every year you save could be an added year of high quality life and independence."

Intermediate digital photography class offered at Masur Museum

An intermediate digital photography class by Jenny Ellerbe will be on Tuesdays, 6:16-8 p.m., Oct. 22-Nov. 19.

Cost is $120 for Masur Museum members and $160 for non-members.

Students will continue to refine techniques learned in the beginner class while also introducing basic image editing. Students will primarily learn Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop techniques. The class will run for five weeks with an additional session in the field (location to be determined by a class vote). The class will also discuss printing, monitor calibration as well as other topics suggested by the participants.

Students must have either taken the beginning digital photography course with Ellerbe or be comfortable using a digital camera with manual settings. Students must also have either a digital SLR or an advanced point and shoot with manual settings.

Ellerbe is a Louisiana native and a self-taught photographer who has received national acclaim for her work. She has been featured in the publications Lenswork, Louisiana Conservationist, Arkansas Review, and Louisiana Life. Her work is represented by the Afterimage Gallery in Dallas, Texas. For the past four years she has taught annual workshops for the Ansel Adams Gallery and Owens Valley Imaging and will teach a new workshop in Abiquiu, N.M.

In 2008 a monograph of her work, “Here is Home,” was published by the Canadian firm of Scotia Waterous. Her work resides in the permanent collections of the Masur Museum of Art and the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston.

Nevada school shooting: Teacher killed by 'nice kid' who was bullied, girl says

No one knows why he picked this day, this time, these victims.

It was the first day back from fall break at Sparks Middle School. Students milled about, waiting to hear the morning bell.

Within moments, two 12-year-old students were wounded. A beloved teacher and military veteran lay dead. And the young shooter -- armed with his parents' gun -- took his own life, silencing any way of understanding what he was thinking.

'I think he took out his bullying'

Before Monday morning, the young gunman seemed like the antithesis of a school shooter.

"He was really a nice kid," schoolmate Amaya Newton told CNN. "He would make you smile when you were having bad day."

But for whatever reason, the boy, whom authorities have not identified, took his parents' handgun to school, a federal law enforcement source said.

"I believe it was because I saw him getting bullied a couple of times, and I think he took out his bullying," Amaya said.

Amaya said she thought the two students at the Nevada school were friends of the shooter.

"It's too early to say whether he was targeting specific people or just going on an indiscriminate shooting spree," Reno police Deputy Chief Tom Robinson said.

Surviving Afghanistan, but not school

True to his character, Mike Landsberry rushed to help others when chaos erupted.

The retired Marine, a popular math teacher at Sparks Middle School, tried to help when the two wounded students were shot.

A witness told the Reno Gazette-Journal that Landsberry was trying to intervene when he was killed by the shooter.

"That was the kind of person that Michael was," his brother, Reggie Landsberry, said. "He was the kind of person that if somebody needed help, he would be there."

Sparks Mayor Geno Martini remarked at the irony.

"It's very unfortunate that (the life of) someone like that, who protected our country over there and came back alive ... had to be taken at his work, at a school," Martini said.

Landsberry joined the Marine Corps in 1986, attained the rank of corporal and served as a field wireman, Marine spokeswoman Maj. Shawn Haney said.

On his school website, the teacher posted pictures of himself hiking in the wilderness and standing with a weapon beside an armored vehicle.

"One of my goals is to earn your respect while you earn mine," he wrote in a message to students. "I believe that with mutual respect that the classroom environment will run smoothly."

A Facebook memorial page for the teacher had more than 10,000 "likes" by early Tuesday morning. Thousands more honored him on a "Rest Easy Mr. Landsberry" page.

Reigniting the national debate

Both of the wounded students were hospitalized in stable condition Monday night, Sparks Deputy Chief Tom Miller said.

Authorities have not released their names.

Sparks Middle School will be closed for the rest of the week as the shooting reignites the national debate over gun violence and school safety.

Last week, a student at an Austin, Texas, high school killed himself in front of other students.

In August, a student at a high school in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, shot and wounded another student in the neck.

Another shooting took place at an Atlanta middle school in January, though no one was hit.

That same month, a California high school student wounded two people, one seriously.

The Nevada shooting also comes almost a year after a gunman killed 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, igniting nationwide debate over gun violence and school safety.

Since the Newtown shootings last December, proposed school security plans across the country have included arming teachers, adding armed security guards and bringing bulletproof backpacks and whiteboards.

Some teachers have even started taking self-defense and combat classes in case a shooter enters their school. One class teaches how to escape or take cover but focused most of its four hours on how to fight and disarm an attacker -- something few educators have ever considered how to do.

Teachers train to face school shooters

The mother of a student killed in Newtown said Monday's shooting reinforces the need to find solutions to keep students safe.

"The unthinkable has happened yet again, this time in Sparks, Nevada," Nicole Hockley said in a statement. " It's moments like this that demand that we unite as parents to find common sense solutions that keep our children -- all children -- safe, and prevent these tragedies from happening again and again."

But what those solutions are will remain fuel for perpetual debate.

Builders of Obama's Health Website Saw Red Flags

Crammed into conference rooms with pizza for dinner, some programmers building the Obama administration's showcase health insurance website were growing increasingly stressed. Some worked past 10 p.m., energy drinks in hand. Others rewrote computer code over and over to meet what they considered last-minute requests for changes from the government or other contractors.

As questions mount over the website's failure, insider interviews and a review of technical specifications by The Associated Press found a mind-numbingly complex system put together by harried programmers who pushed out a final product that congressional investigators said was tested by the government and not private developers with more expertise.

Project developers who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity — because they feared they would otherwise be fired — said they raised doubts among themselves whether the website could be ready in time. They complained openly to each other about what they considered tight and unrealistic deadlines. One was nearly brought to tears over the stress of finishing on time, one developer said. Website builders saw red flags for months.

A review of internal architectural diagrams obtained by the AP revealed the system's complexity. Insurance applicants have a host of personal information verified, including income and immigration status. The system connects to other federal computer networks, including ones at the Social Security Administration, IRS, Veterans Administration, Office of Personnel Management and the Peace Corps.

President Barack Obama on Monday acknowledged technical problems that he described as "kinks in the system." He also promised a "tech surge" by leading technology talent to repair the painfully slow and often unresponsive website that has frustrated Americans trying to enroll online for insurance plans at the center of Obama's health care law.

But in remarks at a Rose Garden event, Obama offered no explanation for the failure except to note that high traffic to the website caused some of the slowdowns. He said it had been visited nearly 20 million times — fewer monthly visits so far than many commercial websites, such as PayPal, AOL, Wikipedia or Pinterest.

"The problem has been that the website that's supposed to make it easy to apply for and purchase the insurance is not working the way it should for everybody," Obama said. "There's no sugarcoating it. The website has been too slow. People have been getting stuck during the application process. And I think it's fair to say that nobody is more frustrated by that than I am."

The online system was envisioned as a simple way for people without health insurance to comparison-shop among competing plans offered in their state, pick their preferred level of coverage and cost and sign up. For many, it's not worked out that way so far.

Just weeks before the launch of HealthCare.gov on Oct. 1, one programmer said, colleagues huddled in conference rooms trying to patch "bugs," or deficiencies in computer code. Unresolved problems led to visitors experiencing cryptic error messages or enduring long waits trying to sign up.

Congressional investigators have concluded that the government's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, not private software developers, tested the exchange's computer systems during the final weeks. That task, known as integration testing, is usually handled by software companies because it ferrets out problems before the public sees the final product.

The government spent at least $394 million in contracts to build the federal health care exchange and the data hub. Those contracts included major awards to Virginia-based CGI Federal Inc., Maryland-based Quality Software Services Inc. and Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.

CGI Federal said in a statement Monday it was working with the government and other contractors "around the clock" to improve the system, which it called "complex, ambitious and unprecedented."

The schematics from late 2012 show how officials designated a "data services hub" — a traffic cop for managing information — in lieu of a design that would have allowed state exchanges to connect directly to government servers when verifying an applicant's information. On Sunday, the Health and Human Services Department said the data hub was working but not meeting public expectations: "We are committed to doing better."

Administration officials so far have refused to say how many people actually have managed to enroll in insurance during the three weeks since the new marketplaces became available. Without enrollment numbers, it's impossible to know whether the program is on track to reach projections from the Congressional Budget Office that 7 million people would gain coverage during the first year the exchanges were available.

Instead, officials have selectively cited figures that put the insurance exchanges in a positive light. They say more than 19 million people have logged on to the federal website and nearly 500,000 have filled out applications for insurance through both the federal and state-run sites.

The flood of computer problems since the website went online has been deeply embarrassing for the White House. The snags have called into question whether the administration is capable of implementing the complex policy and why senior administration officials — including the president — appear to have been unaware of the scope of the problems when the exchange sites opened.

Even as the president spoke at the Rose Garden, more problems were coming to light. The administration acknowledged that a planned upgrade to the website had been postponed indefinitely and that online Spanish-language signups would remain unavailable, despite a promise to Hispanic groups that the capability would start this week. And the government tweaked the website's home page so visitors can now view phone numbers to apply the old-fashioned way or window-shop for insurance rates without registering first.

The House Energy and Commerce Committee was expected to conduct an oversight hearing Thursday, probably without Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius testifying. She could testify on Capitol Hill on the subject as early as next week.

Uninsured Americans have until about mid-February to sign up for coverage if they are to meet the law's requirement that they be insured by the end of March. If they don't, they will face a penalty.

On Monday, the White House advised people frustrated by the online tangle that they can enroll by calling 1-800-318-2596 in a process that should take 25 minutes for an individual or 45 minutes for a family. Assistance is also available in communities from helpers who can be found at LocalHelp.HealthCare.gov.

Kelly Clarkson ties the knot with Brandon Blackstock

She tweeted the news.

Kelly Clarkson is celebrating a big moment!

The singer married fiancé Brandon Blackstock Sunday, and she reported the happy news on Twitter Monday afternoon. Clarkson also shared an adorable picture of Blackstock planting a sweet kiss on her head. And she looks stunning in her long-sleeve lace wedding dress by Temperley (she tweeted thanks to the designer).

The ceremony took place at Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tenn.

Clarkson had said in August that the two had scrapped their big wedding plans because of their busy schedules, instead opting to elope. It seems like they stuck with the low-key plan.

The Stronger singer, 31, is now stepmom to music-exec Blackstock's two children.

Eyes on Apple for new iPads at US event

Apple is on Tuesday expected to show off slick new iPads to take on rival tablet makers during the prime year-end holiday shopping season. 

The culture-changing California company has revealed little about an invitation-only event in San Francisco, but analysts believe a spotlight will shine on the iPad line.

"Job One for Apple is to get something out there on the large-size iPad that gets people excited, then obviously from a specification focus, the Mini needs to catch up with what everybody else has done," NPD analyst Stephen Baker told AFP.

"There are a lot of other things happening in that large-size tablet space and there is a huge amount of choice in smaller devices."

Industry tracker Gartner on Monday forecast that global tablet shipments will reach 184 million units this year in a 53.4 % rise from last year.

The high-end of the market, where iPads dominate, has seen people opting for small tablets which cost less than full-sized models, according to Gartner.

"Continuing on the trend we saw last year, we expect this holiday season to be all about smaller tablets as even the long-term holiday favorite - the smartphone - loses its appeal," said Gartner research vice president Carolina Milanesi.

The iPad remains the largest-selling tablet, according to surveys, but its market share is being eroded by rivals using the Google Android operating system.

Apple is also under pressure to adapt to the popularity of premium tablets with high-quality screens in the seven- to eight-inch (18- to 20-centimeter) range where the Mini competes.

This has analysts confident that Apple on Tuesday will show off a Mini with screen quality on par with that of its full-sized iPad.

Emailed invitations to the Apple event revealed little other than the time and place, and bore the message: "We still have a lot to cover."

A graphic in the shape of an iPad showed Apple's iconic logo under a shower of colorful leaves.

Unconfirmed reports are that Apple unveilings will include a full-size iPad that will be thinner than its predecessor and boast improved capabilities.

Scrutiny of Apple's supply chain has industry trackers thinking the new iPad will get "narrower, thinner, and lighter" and possibly be built with processors at least as powerful as those used in the freshly-launched iPhone 5S.

Some analysts will be watching whether new iPad models have 64-bit processors as engines in a significant boost that would enable tablets to handle more heavy weight programs and games.

And analysts agreed that top-end, full-size iPads may also get the fingerprint recognition security feature that has been a hit in the iPhone 5S.

"It sounds jaded, but tablets are a maturing market," said Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman-Epps.

"We expect few surprises in this category that Apple kickstarted only three years ago," she continued.

"It will be difficult for Apple to move the needle on new tablet sales, as the strongest growth is coming from emerging markets where customers are more price-sensitive."

Apple was also expected to discuss its latest computer operating system and its Mac Pro desktop work station at the event.

Eyes on Apple for new iPads at US event

Apple is on Tuesday expected to show off slick new iPads to take on rival tablet makers during the prime year-end holiday shopping season. 

The culture-changing California company has revealed little about an invitation-only event in San Francisco, but analysts believe a spotlight will shine on the iPad line.

"Job One for Apple is to get something out there on the large-size iPad that gets people excited, then obviously from a specification focus, the Mini needs to catch up with what everybody else has done," NPD analyst Stephen Baker told AFP.

"There are a lot of other things happening in that large-size tablet space and there is a huge amount of choice in smaller devices."

Industry tracker Gartner on Monday forecast that global tablet shipments will reach 184 million units this year in a 53.4 % rise from last year.

The high-end of the market, where iPads dominate, has seen people opting for small tablets which cost less than full-sized models, according to Gartner.

"Continuing on the trend we saw last year, we expect this holiday season to be all about smaller tablets as even the long-term holiday favorite - the smartphone - loses its appeal," said Gartner research vice president Carolina Milanesi.

The iPad remains the largest-selling tablet, according to surveys, but its market share is being eroded by rivals using the Google Android operating system.

Apple is also under pressure to adapt to the popularity of premium tablets with high-quality screens in the seven- to eight-inch (18- to 20-centimeter) range where the Mini competes.

This has analysts confident that Apple on Tuesday will show off a Mini with screen quality on par with that of its full-sized iPad.

Emailed invitations to the Apple event revealed little other than the time and place, and bore the message: "We still have a lot to cover."

A graphic in the shape of an iPad showed Apple's iconic logo under a shower of colorful leaves.

Unconfirmed reports are that Apple unveilings will include a full-size iPad that will be thinner than its predecessor and boast improved capabilities.

Scrutiny of Apple's supply chain has industry trackers thinking the new iPad will get "narrower, thinner, and lighter" and possibly be built with processors at least as powerful as those used in the freshly-launched iPhone 5S.

Some analysts will be watching whether new iPad models have 64-bit processors as engines in a significant boost that would enable tablets to handle more heavy weight programs and games.

And analysts agreed that top-end, full-size iPads may also get the fingerprint recognition security feature that has been a hit in the iPhone 5S.

"It sounds jaded, but tablets are a maturing market," said Forrester analyst Sarah Rotman-Epps.

"We expect few surprises in this category that Apple kickstarted only three years ago," she continued.

"It will be difficult for Apple to move the needle on new tablet sales, as the strongest growth is coming from emerging markets where customers are more price-sensitive."

Apple was also expected to discuss its latest computer operating system and its Mac Pro desktop work station at the event.

Herpes virus genome traces the ancient path of human migration

To confirm the theory that humans spread out from Africa tens of thousands of years ago, all you have to do is follow the cold sores. Or, to be more precise, follow the mutation patterns encoded in the genome of the virus that causes those cold sores.

That's what researchers at the University of Wisconsin at Madison did: In the journal PLOS ONE, they describe how they sequenced the genomes of 31 samples of herpes simplex virus type-1 to reconstruct how it hitchhiked on humans as they dispersed around the world.

The results match the pattern proposed by the "Out of Africa" theory, which has become the most widely accepted scenario for ancient human migration. The analysis showed that African strains of the virus contained the most genetic diversity — suggesting that they had the oldest roots.

“The viral strains sort exactly as you would predict based on sequencing of human genomes. We found that all of the African isolates cluster together, all the virus from the Far East, Korea, Japan, China clustered together, all the viruses in Europe and America, with one exception, clustered together,” senior author Curtis Brandt, a professor of medical microbiology and opthalmology, said in a UW-Madison news release.

“What we found follows exactly what the anthropologists have told us, and the molecular geneticists who have analyzed the human genome have told us, about where humans originated and how they spread across the planet,” he said.

The findings reflect the view that a small human population passed through a "bottleneck" to get from Africa to the Middle East, then went their separate ways to Europe and Asia, and eventually to the Americas.

Almost all of the samples from the United States were linked to European strains, but one sample from Texas was more closely linked to Asia. Brandt and his colleagues said that particular sample may have come from someone who picked up the virus during a trip to the Far East, or perhaps from someone with Native American heritage whose ancestors passed over a "land bridge" between Asia and North America.

“We found support for the land bridge hypothesis, because the date of divergence from its most recent Asian ancestor was about 15,000 years ago," Brandt said. “The dates match, so we postulate that this was an Amerindian virus.”

The researchers said HSV-1 strains are ideal for tracking long-term migration patterns because they're easy to collect, usually not lethal, and capable of forming lifelong latent infections. Because the virus is spread by close contact, through kissing or exposure to saliva, it tends to run in families. And because the viral genome is so much simpler than the human genome, it's cheaper to sequence.

"While preliminary, our data raise the possibility that HSV-1 sequences could serve as a surrogate marker to analyze human migration and population structures," the researchers say.